1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to providing Internet access to and a data entry path for an environmental permitting, compliance, submittal, and enforcement system by remote users, such as regulated entities or regulating agency personnel and, more particularly, to a system allowing users to create, select, edit, complete, certify and pay for environmental permits, reports, registrations, questionnaires, surveys, certificates, applications as well to submit encrypted supporting electronic files and access to real-time facility-level and/or user-specific regulatory data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Compliance with environmental regulations by regulated parties has traditionally been a time consuming and tedious task. Prior systems and business processes particularly required complex paper forms, disparate review prior to submission, inaccurate manual data entry, numerous instructional or data-clarifying phone calls and often the exchange of re-submittal forms between regulated facilities and regulating agencies. While some compliance tracking software was located on remote PCs it was not electronically linked to other facilities or to the regulating agencies. Nor was there a central repository of real-time data that allowed browser independent web access from any client machine, whether at a regulated facility or at a regulatory entity.
What is needed is a system in which savings in both time and expense can be realized. For the regulators, administrative tasks previously done manually need to be automated, eliminating time-consuming processing and phone calls between entities. For the regulated, the industrial facilities"" representatives need the ability to enter data for permits, reports, registrations, questionnaires, surveys, certificates and applications, including automated data validation, electronic signature and payment to thereby reduce data entry, processing costs, increase compliance, allow immediate agency approval and allow real-time management of a facility""s compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. In addition, both regulators and the regulated need to manage environmental compliance in a proactive and timely manner through the utilization of advanced automated electronic messaging of upcoming compliance dates and the delivery of environmental documents for immediate review.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system that allows users to access an environmental regulatory system over the Internet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide regulated users with a system that provides secure access and certification of facility-level and user-specific data through the automated administration of unique user identifications (user ID""s) and encrypted personal identification numbers (PINs).
It is also an object of the present invention to provide regulated users with a system that provides secure access to edit centralized facility-level data that is used across electronic environmental submittals.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide regulated users with a system that provides secure access to edit electronic environmental submittals for a facility or facilities which are associated with the creating user.
It is another object of the present invention to allow users to create, select, edit, complete, certify and pay for initial, modified and renewed environmental permits, reports, registrations, questionnaires, surveys, certificates and applications.
It is also an object of the present invention to allow users to print completed or agency-awarded environmental permits, reports, registrations, questionnaires, surveys, certificates and applications for hard-copy records.
It is an object of this invention to facilitate more rapid decision making by regulatory agencies by allowing virtually instant access to data submitted by regulated entities.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide industrial entities with the ability to request and download partially pre-filled supporting electronic files for completion on the remote user""s PC desktop.
It is an additional other object of the present invention to provide regulated users with the ability to validate, electronically lock and upload a read-only supporting electronic file, such as a spread-sheet, via the environmental regulatory web portal and for agency review.
It is another object of the present invention to provide regulated users with a streamlined workflow through the ability to remotely certify and pay for one or many environmental submittals at a time.
It is another object of the present invention to facilitate proactive environmental compliance management, regulator to regulated communication and timely submittal review through automated electronic messaging.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a central joint repository of real-time data that allows browser independent web access from any client machine, both for the regulator and the regulated.
The above objects can be attained by a system that allows remote regulated entity users to access, enter, edit and submit compliance data into an enterprise wide environmental management system of a regulating agency in real-time via a web browser over the Internet. The system can also validate submitted information in real-time. Submittal certification and fee payment can also be made electronically in real-time with a corresponding credit being made to the relevant facility-level account and corresponding general ledger account within the associated government financial system.
These together with other objects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.